This is the place to learn!
Primes are lenses that do not zoom. Now why in the world would you want that? For a few reasons:
1) Best quality. Since they don't zoom, manufactures can focus everything they have on image quality. Although now zoom lenses are catching up, photographers will always swear prime lenses produce the best quality.
2) Cheap(er). They are tons cheaper. Making zoom lenses are tricky so they up the price. But prime lenses are easy(er) to make, so they don't cost as much.
3) Fast. And by fast, I mean they have a low f-stop (a very wide apeture) so they can let a lot of light in, so you can shoot in low light conditions with faster shutter speeds, and they provide shallow depth of field (that beautiful blurring of the background) you see in pictures.
Primes rock! but they can't zoom, that's the only trade-off. Make sure you google terms you don't know, the internet, including this site, is filled with information. Good luck!
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